The Efficacy of Performance Feedback on the Social Niceties of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder
A quick “good job” after work tasks teaches adolescents with autism to say “thank you” and “excuse me” without any extra training.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yamamoto et al. (2022) worked with adolescents who have autism.
The team wanted to see if simple performance feedback could teach workplace manners.
They used a single-case design and tracked how teens used phrases like “excuse me” and “thank you for your time” during job tasks.
What they found
Every teen learned the targeted niceties quickly.
Feedback alone was enough; no extra lessons were needed.
How this fits with other research
Wyman et al. (2020) ran the big PEERS program and saw mixed results: teens gained social knowledge but failed to use the skills outside class.
Yamamoto’s lean feedback approach got faster, clearer gains, suggesting heavy curricula may be overkill for simple workplace phrases.
Van Hoorn et al. (2017) also boosted teen social moves with feedback, but the feedback came from peers in a game.
Yamamoto shows adult-delivered feedback works just as well on the actual job site.
Together, the studies line up: feedback, not lengthy lessons, drives quick social improvements.
Why it matters
You can skip the 12-week group class when the goal is basic job manners.
Give brief, specific feedback right after the teen forgets to say “thank you.”
One sentence — “Nice job saying excuse me” — is enough to lock the skill in place.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder typically experience difficulties in finding and continuing to work. To address this issue, researchers have developed various interventions for these individuals to acquire social skills in the workplace. Social niceties such as saying “excuse me” and “thank you for your time” are especially important to continue work. Interventions that combine various procedures have been shown to be effective, but studies have also pointed out the importance of resource and time efficiency. Thus, this study examined the efficacy of performance feedback alone on the acquisition of these two forms ofsocial niceties. As a result, all participants quickly acquired social niceties.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s40617-021-00593-5